Bandiagara Escarpment

The Bandiagara Escarpment is a 200-kilometre wall of Precambrian sandstone rising up to 500 metres from the plains of central Mali. Along its base and tucked into the cliffs above are scores of Dogon villages — some inhabited, some abandoned — along with the mud-brick granaries and cliff-face burial chambers of the Tellem people who lived here before the Dogon arrived. UNESCO inscribed the "Cliff of Bandiagara" as a World Heritage Site in 1989.

Treks along the escarpment typically take two to five days and follow paths between villages, crossing flat plateau sections, descending to the talus slopes, and occasionally scrambling through gaps in the cliff itself. The landscape is extraordinary — red rock, baobab trees, millet fields laid out on terraces, and the vast plain of the Séno-Gondo stretching away to the south. The villages are not museums: people live here, farm here, and hold ceremonies here. Mask dances and other ritual events take place at specific times of year and for specific reasons; a good guide will help you understand what you are seeing and what is not appropriate to photograph.

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A story
Before the Dogon arrived on the escarpment in the 13th and 14th centuries, the cliffs were inhabited by a people called the Tellem, who built their granaries and burial chambers in seemingly inaccessible cavities high in the rock face. How they reached them is still debated — no obvious handholds exist, and the cliffs are near-vertical. The Dogon say the Tellem could fly; archaeologists suggest rope techniques or temporary wooden scaffolding. The Tellem burial goods, where they have been excavated, include fabrics, wood carvings, and iron objects of remarkable artisanal quality.

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